Tips for Writing the HSL/Guía para escribir el perdón

[Marie]

This was originally posted by Laurel Scott.

DO NOT OVERWHELM THE ADJUDICATOR WITH LOTS OF WEAK ARGUMENTS.
You want to give the adjudicator your strongest three to five arguments for hardship and PROVE your hardship with documentation. Don't 'bury' your stronger arguments among lots of weaker ones. Start with the strongest arguments first and include weaker ones later in the brief. Same thing with supporting documents. Support your points, but don't overwhelm. If you have a doctor's letter explaining your medical condition, you don't need 20 pages of lab reports.

SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENTS WITH EVIDENCE
If you say your mom has a medical condition, supply a doctor's note. If you say you have unusual job skills specific to the US, get a letter from your employer. If you say your ex-wife would not allow you to take your mutual child abroad, get a letter from her if you can. Getting supporting documents can be a pain in the ###, but DO IT! If you ask the doctor for your records and he doesn't return your call, CALL AGAIN! If your mom's psychiatrist says he needs a release form from your mom, get her to sign one! If you're embarrassed to tell your boss that the reason your performance has been slipping is because your wife was deported, bite the bullet and tell him and ask for a letter. Note: if you have a very strong argument, but you absolutely cannot get evidence - e.g. your spouse was the victim of a hate crime in her home country, but never reported it - include the argument anyway and give LOTS OF DETAILS. Telling a very detailed story with names and dates can sometimes substitute for lack of evidence if it is credible that no evidence would exist (e.g. you had a surgery ten years ago relavant to your current state of health, but the hopital has purged the records).

KNOW YOUR STRONGEST ARGUMENTS
Below are just examples of various arguments on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the strongest and 5 the weakest. It is not an exhaustive list.

Level 1 arguments:
(a) you have a MAJOR medical condition (e.g. brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy) which makes you unable to move abroad and for which you really need your spouse in the US to help take care of you,
( you are caring for an elderly, chronically ill, or disabled relative who needs constant care and whose condition is bad enough that you either MUST live with the relative or you MUST spend at least an hour a day assisting the relative with things like hygiene or physical therapy, and this makes you unable to move abroad and makes you really need your spouse in the US to help you care for your relative and manage your other responsibilities, or
your spouse's country is in a state of war or major political upheaval (e.g. Liberia).

Level 2 arguments include:
(a) you are the primary caregiver for your child(ren) from a prior relationship and the child(ren)'s other parent will not allow you to take the children out of the country AND the child(ren) have formed an emotional attachment to your new spouse or fiance(e), (you have a serious medical condition that makes it very difficult for you to move abroad and you need your spouse to come help you (e.g. you need to have major surgery sometime in the next year, with an expected recovery time of several months), you are caring for a moderately disabled relative who normally can care for him/herself but occasionaly has episodes in which he/she needs a lot of help from you and during those time you, in turn, need help from your spouse,
(b) a relative is unusually financially dependent on you (e.g. your mother has just gone through a nasty divorce with your father in which she got nothing and because she has never worked, she doesn't qualify for social security, so you are supporting her in the entirety for the rest of her life),
(c) you have a child that you are putting through college or are about to put through college, or
your spouse's country is on the verge of major political unrest (e.g. Boliva) or negative political change (e.g. Iran) or the country is known for oppression of one sort or another (e.g. you are a Christian woman and your husband is from Saudi Arabia), or it is in the infant stages of post-war recovery (e.g. Afghanistan).

Level 3 arguments include:
(a) you are the non-custodial parent of a child from a prior relationship and you have an actual relationship with that child and the child's other parent will not allow you to take the child out of the country but your spouse or fiance(e) does not have a relationship with the child at this time, (you have a significant condition that makes it inconvenient for you to move out of the country (e.g. severe asthma and your spouse lives in Mexico City), you have been diagnosed by a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist with clinical depression due to your spouse's immigration problems (I've argued to the Administrative Appeals Unit that this condition should be taken more seriously by adjudications officers, but at this time I am listing it as a 'moderate' argument),
(b) you and your spouse have young children together or you have full custody of your child and can bring him/her abroad and your spouse's home country has bad public health conditions and bad public education,
(c) your job requires a license in both the US and abroad and it will be very difficult to get licensed abroad (e.g. attorney),
you have job skills that are very specific to the US (e.g. a tax accountant with extensive familiarity with US tax law),
(d) your spouse's country has a very bad economy (e.g. Chad),
(e) you have a close relative who is partially dependent on you financially (e.g. your mom gets social security but needs your extra $500 per month to stay in her present apartment) or physically (e.g. your mom pretty much gets around ok, but her health has been declining and you expect her to need more of your help in the near future).

Level 4 arguments include:
(a) you have debts you wouldn't be able to pay if you moved abroad,
( your spouse's country has a high unemployment rate, your spouse's country has a high crime rate,
(b) you've been depondent since your spouse left the country, but haven't sought professional help,
(c) your parents are getting old.

Level 5 arguments include:
(a) you got a high score on the Holmes-Rahe scale, (you and your spouse want to have children in the future (but are not currently pregnant) and either the wife is getting older or the foreign country has a high infant mortality rate.


Don't get discouraged if all you have is two Level 3 arguments and a couple of Level 4 arguments. While one Level 3 argument by itself might not make a strong case, a few put together can be very strong in the aggregate. Just present your case in the strongest possible light. If all you can think of is a couple of Level 4 and Level 5 arguments, I recommend that you pay for a consultation with an attorney to at least see if you can brainstorm some stronger arguments.

Note: whenever you claim that a relative is dependent on you either for direct care or for money, you must explain why no other relative such as one of your siblings can provide the same care or support.

[Marie]

Originally Posted by Spouse

This is a letter that I received directly from the consulate in regards to the I-601 waiver application. I think it provides a pretty good summary of what should be included in a waiver. So, I thought I would share.

Dear Applicant,

This is in reference to the Application for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (I-601) you filed in conjunction with your application for an Immigrant Visa.
This discretionary waiver is provided for under sections 212 (9)(B)(v) and 212 (i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Favorable consideration of such application requires a finding that the refusal of admission to the United States of such immigrant alien would result in extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent of such alien. Approval also requires a favorable exercise of discretion from the Attorney General. Accordingly, all factors, the favorable against the unfavorable, are evaluated in each case.

Your U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent is requested to furnish all evidence and/or explanation deemed appropriate to demonstrate that your refusal of admission to the United States would result in extreme hardship to them. This can include letters written by your spouse, parent or other applicable person and other meaningful documents (can include medical, etc.). All claims of hardship must be supported by documentary evidence or explanation specifying the hardship. Family separation and financial inconvenience, in and of themselves, do not necessarily constitute extreme hardship. Therefore, it is important for your spouse or parent to describe and document any other claim that might be a hardship.

The above-requested information is necessary to render an equitable and fair decision on your Application for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability. Any response or evidence should be submitted to enable receipt by this office at the above address no-later-than 45 days from the date of this letter. Should you choose not to reply, the case will be decided on the basis of the information already at hand.

DHS-Guayaquil

EXTREME HARDSHIP

A waiver of section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) is dependent first upon a showing that the bar imposes an extreme hardship on a qualifying family member. Congress provided this waiver but limited its application. By such limitation it is evident that it did not intend that a waiver be granted merely due to the fact that a qualifying relationship existed. The key term in the provision is "extreme" and thus only in cases of real actual or prospective injury to the United States national or lawful permanent resident will the bar be removed. Common results of the bar, such as separation, financial difficulties, etc., in themselves are insufficient to warrant approval of an application unless combined with much more extreme impacts. Matter of Ngai, 19 I & N Dec. 245. With this qualification in mind, furnish documentary evidence proving that failure to receive the waiver requested will result in extreme hardship to your US citizen spouse.

Please be very detailed as to how you meet the "extreme hardship" burden. Keep in mind that the hardship must be to your qualifying family member - not to you.

Extreme hardship can be demonstrated in many aspects of your spouse''s life such as:

a. HEALTH - Ongoing or specialized treatment requirements for a physical or mental condition; availability and quality of such treatment in your country, anticipated duration of the treatment; whether a condition is chronic or acute, or long-or short-term.

b. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS - Future employability; loss due to sale of home or business or termination of a professional practice; decline in standard of living; ability to recoup short-term losses; cost of extraordinary needs such as special education or training for children; cost of care for family members (i.e., elderly and infirm parents).

c. EDUCATION - Loss of opportunity for higher education; lower quality or limited scope of education options; disruption of current program; requirement to be educated in a foreign language or culture with ensuing loss of time for grade; availability of special requirements, such as training programs or internships in specific fields.

d. PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS - Close relatives in the United States and /or your country; separation from spouse/children; ages of involved parties; length of residence and community ties in the United States.

e. SPECIAL FACTORS - Cultural, language, religious, and ethnic obstacles;\r\nvalid fears of persecution, physical harm, or injury; social ostracism or\r\nstigma; access to social institutions or structures.

f. Any other situation which you feel may help you meet the burden of extreme hardship.

************************************************** ***********

Things to consider (modifed from a posting by Mohan at ILW):

(1) The age, number, and immigration status of the USC''s children and their ability to speak the native language and to adjust to life in the country of alien''s return.
(2) The health condition of the USC or the USC''s children, or parents and the availability of any required medical treatment in the country to which the alien would be returned
(3) The USC''s ability to obtain employment in the country to which the alien would be returned
(4) The financial impact of the alien''s departure
(5) The impact of a disruption of educational opportunities
(6) The psychological impact of the alien''s absence
(7) The current political and economic conditions in the country to which the alien would be returned
(8) Family and other ties (of the USC) to the country to which the alien would be returned
(9) USC contributions to and ties to a community in the United States (i.e. volunteer work, family, etc.)

[Cynthia]

Comments in BOLD courtesy of Atty Laurel Scott in response to Member bohorquez's HSL http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8952

I'm going to pick through it to give everyone an idea of my thought process as I read one of these. My comments are in bold.


"As I write this letter, it has now been exactly three years since my husband, Eduardo Bohorquez, complied with his deportation order. Ok, good to bring up the fact that he complied with the order and didn't abscond.I remembered my first hardship letter that I wrote prior to my husband’s actual departure and I never imagined all that would happen to my husband, our son and me. As I reflect on what the last three years has been for me, it’s been my utter sorrow. A little dramatic. Remember they read a lot of these and are jaded.

The day my husband left was pure agony for both of us. Our son was only two years old at the time and unaware of what was going on. We, on the other hand, dreaded our impending separation. Since I’ve known my husband, he has gone through all kinds of emotions. Still, it pains me to remember how he cried and clung to our son and me that day. I’ve never witnessed anything like it. When I took my husband to the airport, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was petrified, stressed and terrified of my new responsibilities as head of the household. All my emotions came to the surface on that day.This sounds like "normal" hardship.

As a wife and working mother, so much is expected of you. Under normal circumstances, you are supposed to be Super Woman. I knew that when I got married I would need to take care of my husband and his needs, raise our children, take care of our house all while holding down a full-time job and helping our local church. I never expected that I would have to assume the role of my husband and become a father to our son. If the adjudicator is a single mother, she will not be impressed by the "single mother" argument. She will think, "I know its hard, but I do it." Remember, Warren is not the only one in CDJ adjudicating these things.

In January 2004, just two weeks after my husband returned to Mexico , I had to take our car in for service. When I arrived to pick up the car, I was informed that total cost to repair was over $600! I was shocked and mortified because I did not have the money to get our car out. My husband had just left and I was struggling to make ends meet on just my income. I was ashamed to tell the mechanic that I didn’t have the money to pay for his services. I then called my parents, in tears, to explain the situation. They came for me and kindly loaned me the money to get the car out. I was embarrassed because I’ve never had to borrow money from anyone.

As the year progressed, money was very tight. In December, I was thrown for a loop when the company I worked for informed the staff that they were closing its doors after the holidays and we should look for another job. I was distressed because I knew I would not have enough money to make ends meet through unemployment. As much I searched, I could not find a job for seven months. I contemplated getting Public Assistance and health insurance for our son, but I was afraid it would have reflected poorly on my husband’s immigration case. I couldn’t send my husband any money to help with his expenses in Mexico because I was struggling with our bills here. I didn’t want to borrow any money, but I knew I had no choice. I leaned on my parents, my mother-in-law and even brother-in-law for money. I never felt so humiliated then I did during that difficult time. I was grateful when I eventually found employment and began the slow process of paying back every loan. I thought the worst was behind me.If financial argument is going to work well for your case, then these types of stories will be good. But when you're arguing that you need your spouse's income to make ends meet, you are going to have to show that you yourself have a low income and you can't make ends meet, even when living frugally. Its not a good argument to say that if your husband doesn't come back you'll have to move out of your $500,000 house and into a $150,000 house. Not an extreme hardship. Be sure you're ready to supply the appropriate financial evidence.

In October 2006, I was informed that I should not expect my husband home before the end of 2007. My spirit was broken. I cried so much that no one, literally no one, could comfort me. I was very depressed about the circumstances in my life because I never expected this process to be so long.

I was angry because I selfishly thought of another year of carrying my husband’s duties to our family. While I recognized that I was suffering from depression, I refused to take any medication. By taking any medication it would have only offered me a temporary relief and not any kind of real solution to the problems at hand. Therefore I went to my Pastor at church for some much needed counseling and encouragement. My Pastor offered the words and prayers I so desperately needed. After several sessions with my Pastor, I began to realize that I was not the only suffering. My husband and our son also shared in my sorrow in some way or another. 99% of people want to make the depression argument. Unless it is extraordinary, and I mean truly extraordinary, its going to be considered "normal" hardship.

Our son, Aaron, is five years old as I write this letter. Prior to getting married, I remember reading a study that said the most important years of a child’s life is the first five years. Sadly, my husband has missed out on three. For three years, he was deprived of watching Aaron grow or participate in the raising of our son. Throughout these three years, Aaron has needed special attention that I had to bear on my own. I believe that due to my husband’s departure, our son has developed a speech delay. You're going to have to supply some pretty convincing evidence to show that a father's absence causes a speech delay. Don't throw in arguments that are difficult to believe. It will damage the credibility of your statements; not necessarily because they will think you are lying but because they may think you are exaggerating everything.

I recently attended a meeting for our son at his school to which seven women (two speech therapists, the school's case manager, social worker, psychologist, nurse and Aaron's teacher) informed me of all of our son’s “issues.” Which are?? I had to refrain myself from crying and despising the fact that my husband and I could not be together for such an important meeting. Now I’m told that apart from speech therapy, our son will need both occupational and physical therapy. For what? Speech? Anything else? I was told our son was not demonstrating spontaneous speech. Meaning he's not talking at all? What does this mean? But I have witnessed firsthand our son doing so when we went to Mexico to visit his father. As soon as I explained my situation about my husband to these women, it was seemed as though a new light shined over Aaron’s issues. The fact that Aaron is not able to relate to his father is hindering his development.I'm just finding hard to believe that a father's absence causes delayed development. Maybe if the child was severly depressed due to having developed a strong relationship, which was then taken away, but I've only been able to make that argument work in a very, very few number of cases, despite the number of cases I've had that involved children. Either be prepared to really, really prove this argument or don't even attempt this argument.

I thought that given Aaron’s age he would not notice the absence of his father until one day I realized Aaron knew something was wrong. One afternoon last summer, I came home from work and took Aaron to the park. As I was removing some items from the trunk of the car, Aaron began screaming, “Papi! Papi!” at the top of his lungs. I was startled because I didn’t know what was going on and why Aaron was yelling “Papi.” As I looked up, I saw a man who looked like my husband walking across the parking lot, wearing a baseball cap and carrying a soccer ball. Aaron was puzzled and asked where “Papi” was going and why wasn’t he coming with us. It broke my heart because through tears, I had to explain to Aaron that that man was not coming with us because he was not his father. My daughter used to think that any Middle Eastern man was "Daddy". I don't think it damaged her. Sounds like you were upset, though.

Apart from birthdays, school and church events my husband is just missing out on so much of Aaron’s life. I need my husband here to provide another set of hands with Aaron. Unfortunately, I have to lean on myself to be both mom and dad to Aaron.

Because I cannot afford pre-school and after-school care for Aaron, I depend on my parents to take care of Aaron, to take him to school and back and watch him in the evenings until I return from work. Between my parents’ diabetes, my father’s Parkinson’s disease and my mom’s surgeries, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for them to keep up this schedule. It’s also hard having to work full-time during the day and then come home to take care of Aaron and see to my parents’ needs. Whoa, whoa, whoa! You just kind of mention this stuff in passing. This should be half your waiver packet. Do you have adult sibling to help your parents? How advanced is your father's Parkinson's? What surgeries has your mother had? Will she need more in the future? How old are your parents? What are their limitation? What kind of help do they get from you? Did you husband ever used to provide them assistance?


I know at this moment I’m not able to participate fully in Aaron’s educational, emotional and physical needs. If my husband was here, I know that he would be a big help to all of us by helping Aaron with his homework, reading the books that Aaron brings home and/or taking Aaron out to play. Be very careful saying it would "help" to have the alien return. It gives the impression that the alien's return is a convenience, rather than a necessity. We need to be together to work as a team as all parents should. As we work together to help Aaron, we in turn can help each other by providing those necessary breaks. I’ve had to raise our son throughout these three years and I have barely managed to take care of myself and the rest of my family.

I have a new found respect for single mothers. They do it all the time; however I am not a single mother. I have a husband and our son has a father that should be here with us. Studies show that lack of a father in a household causes detrimental effect on children. That’s already evident in Aaron’s speech and emotional problems and I know this is what is causing him to act out.

To be honest, I’m completely exhausted. The entire immigration process has taken quite a toll on me. I’ve had to provide financial support and needs of two households.If you are going to say you have to support your spouse abroad, you need to explain why he can't get a job. He's an able-bodied adult. Is he not working at all? I work to provide food on the table for all three of us. Money is tight because I need to pay the bills, rent and any utilities for both homes and try to save money to go visit my husband. There were times when my husband and I reconsidered the thought of being together in Mexico . But I know I would not have a good job that allows me to provide for two households.Um, if you move to Mexico then there would be no reason to maintain two households any more. Our son would not receive the special care for his needs (some of which are not free all the time). What special care? What needs? He has "delayed speech". What does that mean? He needs "therapy". For what? We would not have proper medical care that we can rely on as we have here. Additionally, I would not be available to help care for my parents.You still haven't said what it is that you do for them.

People tell me all the time how strong I am. How they ‘couldn’t do it’ if they were in my shoes. Be careful. If the adjudicator is a single parent, she will NOT be impressed with these statements. I don’t know how I’m doing it either. I find myself keeping busy all the time because I don’t want to despair and lament about my situation. I certainly don’t want to people to throw me a pity party. Because the moment I give into desperation and pity and I won’t be able to pull my family forward.

I thank God everyday for all His done for us. He’s been my true rock throughout this entire process. I believe that if He wasn’t in our life we would not have made it this far.

I’m asking to please make our family whole again and allow my husband to come home.

Thank you for your time.

[Laura]

Tips for writing HSL:
Este mensaje fue originalmente publicado por Laurel Scott.

ES MUY IMPORTANTE NO AGOBIAR EL ADJUDICADOR CON ARGUMENTOS DÉBILES.
Usted tiene que proveer al adjudicador sus tres a cinco argumentos fuertes de sufrimiento y comprobar su sufrimiento con documentación/evidencia. No enfrasque sus argumentos fuertes entre varios argumentos débiles. Comience con sus argumento más fuerte y luego incluya los mas débiles en el expediente/ carta de sufrimiento extremo (HSL). Este consejo es igual de válido para las documentaciones/evidencias. Apoye sus puntos, pero no agobie. Si usted tiene una carta médica explicando su enfermedad, no es necesario que usted tenga 20 páginas de reportes médicos.

APOYE SU ARGUMENTOS CON EVIDENCIAS/ DOCUMENTACIÓN
Si usted argumenta que su madre sufre de una enfermedad, provee una carta médica. Si usted argumenta que posee de aptitudes excepcionales de empleo específico hacia los Estados Unidos, provee una carta de su empleador. Si usted argumenta que su ex cónyuge no le permite salir con sus hijos en común fuera del país, provee una carta de su ex si puede. Obteniendo los documentos para apoyar su carta puede ser una tarea fastidiosa, pero ¡¡¡ES MUY NECESARIO!!! ¡Si el psiquiatra de su madre le pide un autorización para divulgar historial médico de parte de su madre, pídele que le que firme la autorización! Si siente vergüenza en explicarle a su jefe la razón por la cual su rendimiento laboral ha disminuido porque su cónyuge fue deportado, tráguese la vergüenza, explícale la razón y pídele una carta de parte de su jefe. Nota: Si usted tiene un argumento muy fuerte, pero absolutamente usted no puede obtener la evidencia – por ejemplo, su cónyuge fue una victima de un crimen de odio en su país de origen, pero nunca denuncio el crimen – incluyan el argumento de cualquier manera y provea MUCHOS DETALLES. Narrando el relato detalladamente con nombres y fechas a veces puede sustituir la falta de evidencia, si es que es creíble que ninguna evidencia existe (p. ej. Usted fue sometido a una cirugía hace diez años atrás pertinentes a su actual enfermedad, pero el hospital saneó los archivos).

CONOSCA SUS FUERTES ARGUMENTOS
A continuación hay varios ejemplos de argumentos de la escala del 1 al 5, con el 1 siendo el más fuerte y el 5 el más débil. No es una lista exhaustiva.

Argumentos del nivel 1 (incluyen pero no están limitados a):
(a) Usted tiene una enfermedad o afección grave (p. ej. tumor cerebral, esclerosis múltiple, parálisis cerebral) en cuyo caso lo hace incapaz de mudarse al extranjero y por lo tanto requiere que usted dependa demasiado de su cónyuge en los Estados Unidos para su cuidado.
(b) Usted cuida de un familiar: anciano, enfermo crónico, o discapacitado por lo cual requiere cuidados constantes y su condición es lo suficiente severo que debes vivir con el pariente o tienes que dedicarle por lo menos una hora al día asistiendo el pariente con actividades diarias como el higiene o terapia física, por lo cual lo hace a usted incapaz de mudarse al extranjero y requiere que su cónyuge resida en los Estado Unidos para que ayude con los cuidados de su pariente y maneje otras responsabilidades.
(c) El país de su cónyuge se encuentra en un estado de guerra o inestabilidad política severa (p. ej. Liberia).

Argumentos del nivel 2 (incluyen pero no están limitados a):
(a) Usted es el principal cuidador de sus hijo(s) menores de edad de una relación previa y el padre/la madre de los niño(s) no permite que se lleve a los niño(s) fuera del país y los niño(s) han formado un lazo emocional hacia su cónyuge.
(b) Usted padece de una enfermedad severa por lo cual dificulta mudarse al extranjero y por lo tanto requiere del apoyo de su cónyuge (p. ej. Usted requiere de una cirugía delicada en el próximo año, con un plazo de recuperación de varios meses).
(c) Usted cuida de un familiar moderadamente discapacitado quien normalmente puede cuidar de si mismo, pero ocasionalmente padece de episodios que requiere bastante ayuda de usted y durante ese tiempo usted, sucesivamente, requiere ayuda de su cónyuge.
(d) Un familiar depende insólitamente de su apoyo económico (p. ej. su madre paso por un divorcio desagradable por lo cual ella no recibió bienes y tampoco nunca trabajo por lo tanto no cualifica para beneficios de retiro por el seguro social, causando que usted la apoye económicamente por el resto de su vida).
(e) Usted tiene un hijo/a quien va asistir a la Universidad y depende de usted económicamente para completar su carrera/licenciatura.
(f) El país de su cónyuge esta a punto de padecer de una inestabilidad política delicada (p. ej. Bolivia) o padece de un cambio político negativo (p. ej. Irán) o el país es conocido por practicar la opresión (p. ej. usted es una mujer cristiana y su esposo es de Arabia Saudita), o se encuentra en las primeras etapas de recuperación posguerra (p. ej. Afganistán).

Argumentos de nivel 3 (incluyen pero no están limitados a):
(a) Usted es el padre/madre que no posee la patria potestad de su hijo/a de una relación previa. Usted mantiene una relación con su hijo/a pero su actual pareja, por el momento, no. El otro/a padre/madre no permite que usted se lleve al niño/a al extranjero.
(b) Usted padece de una enfermedad significante por lo cual es inconveniente para usted mudarse fuera del país (p. ej. asma severa y su cónyuge reside en la Ciudad de México).
(c) Usted ha sido diagnosticado por un sicólogo/siquiatra licenciado con depresión clínica causado por los problemas inmigratorios de su cónyuge. Nota: Yo he expuesto a la Unidad Administrativa de Apelaciones (Administrative Appeals Unit) que esta enfermedad debe de ser tomada seriamente por los adjudicadores, pero en este momento yo lo estoy publicando como un argumento ‘moderado’.
(d) Usted y su cónyuge tienen hijos pequeños en común o tiene la patria potestad completa de su hijo/a y lo puede llevar con usted fuera del país, pero tanto como la educación y salud pública del país de su cónyuge es de muy baja calidad.
(e) Su carrera requiera de una licenciatura tanto como en los Estados Unidos y en el extranjero y seria demasiado dificultoso para que reciba una licenciatura en el extranjero para ejerce su carrera (p. ej. abogado).
(f) Usted posee de aptitudes de empleo que son especificas hacia los Estados Unidos (p. ej. contador de impuestos con familiaridad extensiva de las leyes de impuestos de los Estado Unidos).
(g) El país de su cónyuge padece de una economía decaída (p. ej. Chad).
(h) Usted tiene una pariente que depende parcialmente de su apoyo económico (p. ej. su madre obtiene beneficios del seguro social pero necesita su apoyo de $500.00 dólares al mes para poder permanecer en su actual apartamento) o físicamente (p. ej. su madre se puede desplazar bastante bien, pero su salud a estado decayéndose y usted anticipa que ella va a requerir mas de su apoyo en el futuro cercano).

Argumentos de Nivel 4 (incluyen pero no están limitados a):
(a) Usted tiene deudas que no podrá pagar si se muda al extranjero.
(b) El país de su cónyuge padece de un índice alto de desempleo y crimen.
(c) Usted se a sentido abatido/a desde que su cónyuge a partido de los Estados Unidos, pero no a solicitado ayuda profesional.
(d) Su padres están envejeciendo.

Argumentos de Nivel 5 (incluyen pero no están limitados a):
(a) Usted obtuvo un puntaje alto en la escala de reajuste social Holmes-Rahe (es un sistema para medir el nivel de estrés asociado con una diversidad de cambios en la vida).
(b) Usted y su cónyuge quieren tener niños en el futuro (pero actualmente no están embarazados) y la esposa esta madurando en edad o el país de su cónyuge tiene un índice alto de mortalidad infantil.

No se desanime si usted solamente tiene dos argumentos del nivel 3 y unos cuantos del nivel 4. Mientras un solo argumento del nivel 3 quizás no haga un caso fuerte, algunos argumentos bien desarrollados pueden ser muy fuertes en conjunto. Solo presente su caso de la manera más fuerte posible. Si solo puede pensar en unos pocos argumentos de nivel 4 y 5, yo recomiendo que consulten con un abogado para que tan si quiera puedan ver si reúnen argumentos más fuertes.

Nota: Cuando usted alega que un familiar depende de usted para cuidados directos o económicamente, debe usted explicar la razón por que ningún otro pariente (como uno de sus hermanos) no puede proveer el mismo cuidado o apoyo.